Cauvery: Karnataka reduces discharge to a trickle

Salem/Thanjavur: Karnataka on Friday drastically reduced the discharge by releasing just 2,231 cusecs (700 cusecs from Kabini Dam and 1,531 cusecs from KRS Dam) to Tamil Nadu. As a result the inflow into Mettur Dam is expected to reach low levels in a couple of days. On Friday the inflow was 10,160 cusces while the discharge for delta irrigation was 15,009 cusecs. The level at the dam stood at 83.74 feet and the storage was 45.78 tmcft.

Meanwhile in Thanjavur, around 13,000 cusecs of water was released from the Grand Anaicut dam on Friday, raising hopes for a successful samba cultivation in the Cauvery delta. The Stanley reservoir at Mettur was opened for the Samba crop on September 17 and the water reached Grand Anaicut at 7 am on Friday. As on September 19, around 5,000 cusecs has been released into the Cauvery, 5,000 cusecs into the Vennar, 2,000 cusecs into the Grand Anicut Canal and 1,000 cusecs into the Kollidam river.

In future, the release of water might be regulated based on the North-East Monsoon, PWD officials said. However, till September 30, water will be released into all channels and rivers to ensure that the tail end of the delta was also irrigated. The officials have requested the farmers to conserve water and reduce wastage. With around 1.5 lakh hectares in the delta being prepared for Samba cultivation, farmers have pinned hopes on the upcoming monsoon.

Karnataka on Friday drastically reduced the discharge by releasing just 2,231 cusecs to Tamil Nadu.

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